Waste disposal apparatus with secondary waste reducer



Dec. 21, 1954 J. H. POWERS WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS WITH SECONDARY WASTE REDUCER Filed Nov. 27, 1953 FIG.5

INVENTOR. JAMES H. POWERS HIS ATTORNQEY United States Patent Ofi 2,697,558 Patented Dec. 21, 1954 ice WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS WITH SECONDARY WASTE REDUCER James H. Powers, Anchorage, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application November 27, 1953; Serial No. 394,780 12 Claims. (Cl. 241-160):

ber below the main shredding chamber, and strainer means for preventing large. particles from. passing from the main shredding chamber into the drain receiving chamber where such particles might clog or plug the sink drain line. Although the straining passages employed in such apparatus are of relatively small cross-sectional area it has been found that they do not prevent the passage of. fibers and,

other long stringy material such as celery and cornfibers, peapods, etc. Various attempts have been made to provide auxiliary shredding means for insuring the complete comminution of the material discharged fromthe grinding chamber into the draining chamber but none,; so far as I am aware, have been wholly effective in cutting vege-- table fibers and similar stringy material. Apparentlyone of the difiiculties involved is that waste material of this type frequently rolls into ball-like masses small enough to pass into the drain chamber, and then resumes its elongated form as it passes through the drainage system.

Accordingly a principal object of my invention is. to provide waste disposal apparatus including asecondary shredding device particularly adapted to comminute and cut into short lengths long stringy material" discharged from the primary grinding chamber.

Another object of my invention is to provide waste disposal apparatus including secondary shredding means arranged to comminute both small waste particles and long fibers so that such fibers are cut into small lengths even though they are rolled into small ball-like masses by. the primary grinding means.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a secondary shredding mechanism for waste disposal devices which will effectively cut and comminute fibrous waste materials, which may be economically manufactured, and which may be replaced when-it is worn tothe extent that it is no longer effective.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterizemy invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part. of this specification.

Briefly stated in accordance with one aspect of: my invention 1 provide a circular flange projecting from its inner surface, and mount the flange in a position surrounding the flywheel of a waste disposal unit having a primary grinding chamber above the flywheel and a drain receiving chamber therebelow. I further provide means on the periphery'of the flywheel carrying one or more shearing edges which are generally parallel to the surface of the flange andare positioned in cutting relationship with thecutting edges on the flange. Preferably the flange extends downwardly into the drain receiving chamber and slopes-inwardly. toward the center of the flywheel so that the. cutting edges'more effectively intercept the waste material as it isdischarged from the main grinding'chamber.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference.

may bemade. to the accompanying drawing in;which:

having cutting edges Fig. I is an elevation view, partly in section, of a waste disposal device embodying my invention.

21 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line L4 in 1g.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the circular flange and Bywheel forming a part of my invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the circular flange taken along-the line 4-4 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing a modified form of my invention.

Ffigs. 7 is a detailed section taken on the line 7-7 in Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing still another modified form of my invention.

Fig. 9 is a detailed sectional view taken onthe line 9-9 in Fig. 8.

Referring first to Fig. l of the drawing, I have. shown a waste disposal device having a generally cylindrical casing 1 enclosing a grinding or shredding chamber 2 at the bottom of which the comminuting or shredding of the waste material takes place as will be later described. The upper end of easing 1 is provided with means suitable for supporting the waste disposal device in the drain opening. of a sink or the like, the supporting means including a supporting flange 3, a clamping flange 4 and clamping bolts 5, all arranged so that the open top of easing 1 is supported in alignment with the sink drain opening. Preferably a combined sink stopper and control device similar to that disclosed and claimed in my Patent 2,185,037 is removably supported in the sink'drain opening and arranged. to control the operation of the waste disposal unit. However since thisdevice forms no part of the present invention it need not. befurther" described here.

At the lower end of the casing is a bottom. flange 6 carrying. an, electric motor 7 having. a shaft 8' rotatingin upper and lower bearings'9 and:10. Flange6 is' secured to the lower end of easing 1 by means of a plurality of bolts;11 (only one being. shown) threaded into the. bottom, edge of the casing. at. spaced pointsaround its periphery. These bolts carry under their heads clamping was-hers. 12 which extend inwardly and engage portions.

of flange 6;. The assembly including flange. 6 and. the motor 7,is enclosed by a shield 13 depending from the casing and secured by suitable means such asbolts (not shown) passingthrough the bottom of the. shield and engaging the frame of motor 7.

The grinding, or shredding mechanism: of thewaste disposal device is located at the bottom of shreddingchamiher 2 and, includes a generally cylindricalwall member 14'removably seated in an annular recess 15in the lower edge of easing 1. Resilient sealing and supporting gaskets, 16 and 17 at the-top and: bottom respectively of wall 14 assist in the frictional holding of the partsin their proper position and seal the joint between the casing and the;

bottom flange 6. These gaskets also reduce vibration.

whichmight be transmitted from the comminuting mechanism to the sink or. other supporting structure. on the inner surface of wall members 18 spaced at intervals around its periphery; Shredding. members 18 cooperate with other elements. of the shredding. mechanismhereinafter described to form the'prirnary shredding means of my improved waste" disposal device.

Positioned flywheel 19 threaded on therewith when motor 7. I of flywheel 19 I, provide means adapted to impel upwardly extendingimpellersuch as abutments or lugs 21 may be provided on flywheel 19, theses. lugs being located radially inward from impeller blades-20 andspaced in quadrature with respect thereto as shown.

Carried; 14 are projecting shredding at the bottom of shredding chamber 2 is: a. the motor shaft 8 so as to rotate is energized. On the top surfacewaste material in; shredding chamber z' radially outwardly against shredding members. carriedby fiywheel 19 may in In operation, impeller blades cause a mixture of .water and waste material to be whirled around the shredding chamber at a speed such that the solid particles are moved outward by centrifugal force and reduced or comminuted by being tumbled against the teeth or serrations of shredding'members 18. There is also a further comminuting action resulting from the shearing act on between the impeller blades 20 and shredding members 18. Lugs 21 engage the waste material in the vicinity of the central portion of the flywheel and cooperate with impeller blades 20 to insure that such waste materlal lS put into rotation as soon as a shredding operation is started.

At the bottom of wall 14 and adjacent the periphery of flywheel 19 are located a series of straining grooves 22, the upper ends of which communicate with the shredding chamber and the lower ends of which discharge into an annular drain receiving chamber 23 having an outlet 24. As waste material in shredding chamber 2' is comminuted and reduced to small particles, a flowable mixture of water and such particles is discharged through grooves 22 into drain receiving chamber 23 where it is further comminuted, cut and reduced by secondary shredding means hereinafter described.

Since, during operation, the mixture of garbage and water is in the form of an annulus adjacent the side walls of the shredding chamber, any solid material remaining in the shredding chamber when the motor is stopped will settle onto the flywheel adjacent the straining grooves 22 and may sufliciently block the grooves so sink drainage does not flow through the shredding chamber into the drain line. This disadvantage may be overcome by providing additional openings 24 through the flywheel 19 so that normal sink drainage may bypass grooves 22. This construction is described and claimed in my Patent 2,482,125.

Although waste material comminuted in shredding chamber 2 is reduced to small particles which will pass through straining grooves 22, is still found that certain waste materials are not thoroughly comminuted before discharge into the drain line. This is particularly true with materials such as corn husks, celery fibers, pods and other material which may be broken down in the shredding chamber into long strands of fiber or stringy material. Such fibers frequently pass through straining grooves or the running clearance between the flywheel and the shredding chamber wall, and hence to the sink drain line, where they may become matted and twisted and finally clog the drain line. As mentioned above, it appears that these fibrous materials are frequently rolled into balllike masses in the main shredding chamber, and pass through the straining grooves in this form.

To overcome this difficulty I provide secondary shredding means including a circular flange supported at its top edge between the gasket 17 and flange 6 so that it extends downwardly into drain receiving chamber 23 adjacent the periphery of flywheel 19. Referring to Figs. 3, 4 and 5 circular flange 25 includes a horizontal top portion 26 by means of which it is mounted in my waste disposal device, and an annular portion 27 inwardly inclined from its upper to its lower edge. Projecting inwardly from annular portion 27 are a plurality of cutting edges 28 positioned at spaced intervals. Cutting edges 28 are formed on integral inwardly deflected generally rectangular portions of flange 25 and are inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which the periphery of flywheel 19 moves as it sweeps past cutting edges 28. As viewed in Fig. 3, the direction of rotation of flywheel 19 is counterclockwise, while in Fig. 2 the direction of rotation is clockwise.

My secondary shredding means also includes one or more cutter bars 29 carried by flywheel 19, and fixedly secured thereto adjacent its periphery by suitable fastening means such as rivets 30 extending through spaced web portions 31 on the bottom of the flywheel. Preferably cutter bar 29 is made of a hard cutting material such as carbon tool steel, for example, and is generally rectangular in shape with a shearing edge 32 generally parallel to the surface of annular portion 27 of circular flange 25. Shearing edge 32 extends outwardly from flywheel 19 into cutting relationship with cutting edges 28 on flange 25, the clearance between the two cutting edges being approximately of an inch, for example. Since shearing edge 32 is perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the flywheel, shearing action between it and cutting edge 28 progresses that normal from top to bottom, it being recalled that cutting edge 28 is inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which shearing edge 32 moves as it sweeps past the cutting edge. This arrangement insures that the waste material is drawn over the cutting edges and forced in a downward direction into the drain receiving chamber. Furthermore, because the annular portion 21 of ring 25 slopes inwardly toward the center of the flywheel, waste particles discharged through straining grooves 22 or the running clearance between flywheel 19 and wall 14 are retained on the annular inclined surface long enough to be swept against one of the cutting edges 28 by cutter bar 29. lo effect it appears that the waste particles are held by centrifugal force on the inclined surface of flange 25 for a long enough period to insure shearing or cutting of the particle and fibers. This arrangement is an important feature of my invention and provides substantially improved secondary cutting action as compared with the cutting action of prior art devices in which a cutter extending outwardly from the flywheel sweeps the discharge ends of straining grooves at the periphery of the flywheel.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7 which show a modified form of my invention, cutting edges 33 are formed on an inner surface of flange 25 by the zigzag edges of star-shaped openings punched in the side wall of annular portion 27. It will be observed that in this embodiment the cutting edges are formed on partially severed triangular portions of flange 25 inwardly deflected by the punching operation, and that at least one of the cutting edges is inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which the cutter bar 29 moves as it sweeps past the cutting edges.

Still another embodiment of my invention similar to that shown in Fig. 6 is shown in Figs. 8 and 9, in which triangular portions of flange 25 are inwardly deflected to form a pair of cutting edges, one of which is inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which cutter bar 29 moves as it sweeps past the triangular portions. Thus both of these modified forms of my invention include inclined cutting edges arranged to cooperate with shearing edge 32 so that the waste particles and material are drawn over the cutting edges and forced downwardly into the drain receiving chamber.

From the above disclosure it is seen that I have pro vided secondary comminuting means to further insure that material discharged from the primary shredding chamber into the sink drain line is properly comminuted or reduced to a form suitable for discharge into the drain system. In particular the vegetable fibers and other stringy material, which frequently is rolled into ball like masses by the primary shredding mechanism are cut into short lengths which cannot intertwine to clog the drainage system. Furthermore it will be observed that both the cutter bar and the flange on which the cutting edges are formed are removable and may be replaced when the shearing or cutting edges become worn. The present invention also permits the main shredding means to be designed for more rapid comminution since the secondary shredding means may be relied upon to reduce any of the larger particles discharged through the straining grooves.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described and I intend by the appended claims to cover all modifications within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange extending downwardly into said drain receiving chamber adjacent the periphery of said flywheel, a plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges.

2. In apparatus for comminuting-waste material, primary s ed e ns c din a wall defin n a mai shr dding h m r, shr n m mbe an th inne surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange extending downwardly into said chamber adjacent the periphery of the upper edge of said flange being at least equal to the diameter of the lower edge thereof, a plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges.

3. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange surrounding the periphery of said flywheel extending downwardly into said drain receiving chamber and sloping inwardly toward the center of said flywheel, a plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel tosaid surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges.

4. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a stationary circular flange surrounding the periphery of said flywheel, said flange including an annular portion inwardly inclined from its upper to its lower edge, a plurality of cutting edges projecting inwardly from said annular portion of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges.

5. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange extending downwardly into said drain receiving chamber adjacent the periphery of said flywheel, a plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cutting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected generally rectangular portions of said flange and being inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which said shearing edge moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

6. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange extending downwardly into said chamber adsaid flywheel, the diameter of I jacent the periphery of said flywheel, the diameter oflthe upper edge of said flange being at least equal to the diameter of the lower edge thereof, a plurality of ,cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface .of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cut,- ting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected generally rectangular portions of said flange and being inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which said shearing edge moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

7. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange surrounding the periphery of said flywheel extending downwardly into said drain receiving chamber and sloping inwardly toward the center of said flywheel, a plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending out wardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cutting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected generally rectangular portions of said flange and being inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which said shearing edge moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

8. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a stationary circular flange surrounding the periphery of said flywheel, said flange including an annular portion inwardly inclined from its upper to its lower edge, a plurality of cutting edges projecting inwardly from said annular portion of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cutting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected generally rectangular portions of said flange and being inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which said shearing edge moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

9. In apparatus for comminuting waste material; primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange extending downwardly into said drain receiving chamber adjacent the periphery of said flywheel,

plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cutting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected partially severed triangular portions of said flange, one of the cutting edges on said triangular portions being inclined from topto bottom in the direction in which said shearing edge moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

10. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange extending downwardly into said chamber adjacent the periphery of said flywheel, the diameter of the upper edge of said flange being at least equal to the diameter of the lower edge thereof, a plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cutting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected partially severed triangular portions of said flange, one of the cutting edges on said triangular portions being inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which said shearing edge moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

11. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said Wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a circular flange surrounding the periphery of said flywheel extending downwardly into said drain receiving chamber and sloping inwardly toward the center of said flywheel, a plurality of cutting edges projecting from the inner surface of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cutting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected partially severed triangular portions of said flange, one of the cutting edges on said triangular portions being inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which said shearing edge moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

12. In apparatus for comminuting waste material, primary shredding means including a wall defining a main shredding chamber, shredding members on the inner surface of said wall, a flywheel positioned at the bottom of said shredding chamber, upwardly extending impeller means carried by said flywheel, straining grooves in said wall extending from within said shredding chamber past the periphery of said flywheel into a drain receiving chamber, and secondary shredding means comprising a stationary circular flange surrounding the periphery of said flywheel, said flange including an annular portion inwardly inclined from its upper to its lower edge, a plurality of cutting edges projecting inwardly from said annular portion of said flange, a cutter bar carried by said flywheel, and a shearing edge on said cutter bar generally parallel to said surface of said flange and extending outwardly from said flywheel into cutting relationship with said cutting edges, said cutting edges being formed on integral inwardly deflected partially severed triangular portions of said flange, one of the cutting edges on said triangular portions being inclined from top to bottom in the direction in which said shearing portion moves as it sweeps past said cutting edges.

No references cited. 

